Intrepid noted the winners from the boat’s latest trip, returned July 10. Skipper Kevin Osborne wrote July 9:

“We fished offshore for our last day and had a really great day catching 18 to 50-pound Yellowfin Tuna, and a few 40-pound Bluefin Tuna. First thing in the morning we got a school that wanted to go for it, and the rest of the day was good scratching on these beauties, a perfect ending by any standards, and grease calm on the weather.”

On July 10 he posted:

“A huge thanks to Wendy Tochihara and Lori Byron for all the really great tackle for everyone on board, they really put it to good use. Jackpot winners on the Izorline/Turners trip were:

“We spent our day at Alijos Rocks today, and managed to catch just over fifty Wahoo. The weather today was again a bit breezy with about fifteen knots of wind. As usual, the sharks managed to steal a few from us, but all in all it was a great day. We even released a few Striped Marlin. We are headed north now and will report back tomorrow.”

Scattered

Royal Star owner-operator Tim Ekstrom posted July 12:

“…A little fish in a lot of places is how I would describe the present setup. There are no deserts presently out here. It's the fleeting concentrations that require plenty of skill, and an at least equal portion of good fortune, to land upon. Taking the hint by early afternoon, and feeling no love, a strategic deviation was in order. The thrill of the hunt was long gone. A scenic respite replete with variety fish, astounding beauty, and flat calm transformed an otherwise dull and uncomfortable afternoon of drudgery into tranquil paradise. Not so much from a fishing perspective, again the big volume was nowhere to be found, but the dramatic addition of scenery, and the opportunity to put some lines over the side from a stationary boat, made more of little than can be imagined.

That accomplished, we head back offshore for the final round longing for revenge. We've a lot of ground to cover and plenty of time. Though the weather has kicked up a notch conditions promise to be plenty workable. And that is exactly what we intend to do. Time to double down; that’s my go-to philosophy and favorite saying in tough times. Today's image features long time Royal Star veteran and friend Barb Kelber with a huge victory achieved late in the day. This 38-pound grumpy yellowtail was pulled through the gauntlet, making a memory to recall for many years to come.”

Spirit Winners

Mike Keating’s Spirit of Adventure returned to H&M Landing July 11, and the next day the boat posted photo-news of the winners on the Jim Boyle trip.

Vagabond Winners

Trip 7-15 Jackpots:

John Beauchamp in 1st place with a nice 59.2-pound Yellowfin tuna

2nd place winners: Chong Chang with a 35.4-pound Yellowfin tuna and Jimmy Beauchamp with a 35.4-pound Bluefin tuna.

Skin Eats Fly

Jonathan Roldan had this report for his Tailhunter International operation last week in the La Paz area, posted July 12:

“La Paz is where our better action has been. The dorado schools are keeping the rods bent, but this past week was still scratchier than normal. Strong morning winds that didn’t slack off until late morning or early afternoon, didn’t help at all. So, if the bite happened, it was a late bite. The guys really had to work at it and our captains chased and moved constantly looking for the bite. If you found it, hours of boredom were suddenly topped by frantic minutes of madness when the whole school attacked. Some larger fish were caught this week with 15 to 25-pounders around, but still lots of smaller fish. Hopefully, the bite will get stronger next week because this past week was off its game. It did seem that late in the week, the dorado got more cooperative with more limits of fish.

“Inshore, some good spots of cabrilla, pargo and snapper still about and there were a few days when the marlin went nuts and almost every boat had at least one hook up!

“This is just spectacular! Randy Skedgel had an off-the-chart week on the fly rod, taking 17 different species of fish on the fly rod, including dorado, roosterfish and on the last day, a wahoo! Hard enough to do it on conventional tackle, but he knocked it down with a fly rod right off Punta Perrico!”